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DUI Penalties in Alaska

September 28, 2026 · LawDiver Research Team

If you only remember one point about DUI penalties in Alaska, remember this: BAC limits: 0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21. A first offense: First-offense DUI typically carries jail (often at least 72 hours), fines, license revocation, alcohol screening, and ignition interlock for reinstatement. Felony threshold: A third DUI within 15 years, or DUI causing serious injury or death, can be a felony. Procedure, examples, and the opinions below hang off Alaska Stat. § 28.35.030. Lookback: Prior convictions within 15 years can enhance DUI sentencing in Alaska.. Ignition interlock: Ignition interlock is a standard condition for limited licenses and reinstatement after DUI.

First-offense penalties

First-offense DUI typically carries jail (often at least 72 hours), fines, license revocation, alcohol screening, and ignition interlock for reinstatement.

Walking through Alaska facts

Use this walkthrough to see which Alaska authority does the work at each step.

A driver in Alaska is charged with a first impaired-driving offense and wants to know what the statute actually sets.

Start with the alcohol limits: 0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21
Read the first-offense range: First-offense DUI typically carries jail (often at least 72 hours), fines, license revocation, alcohol screening, and ignition interlock for reinstatement.
Ask when the charge becomes a felony: A third DUI within 15 years, or DUI causing serious injury or death, can be a felony. Lookback: Prior convictions within 15 years can enhance DUI sentencing in Alaska.
Interlock: Ignition interlock is a standard condition for limited licenses and reinstatement after DUI.

Alaska prosecutes DUI under Alaska Stat. § 28.35.030 with parallel administrative revocation under implied consent. Repeat offenses within the long lookback escalate quickly.

When a Alaska DUI becomes a felony

A third DUI within 15 years, or DUI causing serious injury or death, can be a felony.

Ignition interlock and license consequences

Ignition interlock is a standard condition for limited licenses and reinstatement after DUI.

How a typical Alaska DUI case unfolds

Alaska prosecutes DUI under Alaska Stat. § 28.35.030 with parallel administrative revocation under implied consent. Repeat offenses within the long lookback escalate quickly.

Case law: DUI penalties in Alaska

STATE of Alaska, Appellant, v. Brian SIMPSON, Appellee

STATE of Alaska, Appellant, v. Brian SIMPSON, Appellee, 2002 Alas. App. LEXIS 160 (2002)

…tember 2000. Because Simpson has two prior convictions for "driving under the influence" in Montana, the State indicted him for felony DWI under AS 28.35.030(n) (third offense within five years). 1 But Simpson questions whether his Montana convictions can properly be used as predicate convictions to support the Alaska felony DWI charge. Under AS 28.35.030(0)(4), a conviction fr…

Alaska opinions such as STATE of Alaska, Appellant, v. Brian SIMPSON, Appellee are cited where DUI penalties is disputed. The court stated: "Because Simpson has two prior convictions for 'driving under the influence' in Montana, the State indicted him for felony DWI under AS 28.35.030(n) (third offense within five years)." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.

Douglas L. VALENTINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee

Douglas L. VALENTINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee, 2007 Alas. App. LEXIS 40 (2007)

…ent.59 Rather, as was true before the 2004 revisions to the driving under the influence law, the jury may, but need not, infer from such a test result that the defendant was under the influence at the time of driving.60 It is true that, under the 2004 amendments, a defendant may no longer offer "big gulp" or other "delayed absorption" evidence to show that his chemical test res…

Douglas L. VALENTINE, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee is worth reading on Alaska DUI penalties because the court put the point in its own words: "Rather, as was true before the 2004 revisions to the driving under the influence law, the jury may, but need not, infer from such a test result that the defendant was under the influence at the time of driving." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.

Clarence SOLOMON, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee

Clarence SOLOMON, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee, 2010 Alas. App. LEXIS 32 (2010)

…NHEIMER, Judge. Clarence Solomon appeals his conviction for driving under the influence, AS 28.35.030(a). At his trial, Solomon introduced evidence that his intoxication stemmed from his ingestion of approximately one quart of NyQuil® cold medicine. Solomon further claimed that he did not read the label on the NyQuil bottles (which stated that NyQuil contained 10 percent alcoho…

Clarence SOLOMON, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee is worth reading on Alaska DUI penalties because the court put the point in its own words: "NHEIMER, Judge. Clarence Solomon appeals his conviction for driving under the influence, AS 28.35.030(a). At his trial, Solomon introduced evidence that his intoxication stemmed from his ingestion of approximately one quart of NyQuil® cold medicine." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.

Rodney A. McCARTHY v. STATE of Alaska

Rodney A. McCARTHY v. STATE of Alaska, 2012 Alas. App. LEXIS 133 (2012)

…Chief Judge. Rodney A. McCarthy appeals his convietion for driving under the influence.1 McCarthy argues that the trial court should have suppressed his Datamaster breath test result, and all statements he made during the DUI processing, because the officer who administered the breath test did not make an audio recording of the DUI processing. We uphold the trial court's rulin…

Alaska opinions such as Rodney A. McCARTHY v. STATE of Alaska are cited where DUI penalties is disputed. The court stated: "Chief Judge. Rodney A. McCarthy appeals his convietion for driving under the influence." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.

STATE of Alaska, Petitioner, v. David EVANS, Respondent

STATE of Alaska, Petitioner, v. David EVANS, Respondent, 2016 Alas. App. LEXIS 158 (2016)

OPINION Judge ALLARD. David Evans was arrested for driving under the influence, When Evans refused to take a breath test, the police obtained a search warrant to draw a sample of his blood. A test of that sample showed that Evans had a blood-aleohol level of .094 percent, which is over the legal limit of .08. 1 Evans was subsequently charged with both driving under the…

Alaska opinions such as STATE of Alaska, Petitioner, v. David EVANS, Respondent are cited where DUI penalties is disputed. The court stated: "OPINION Judge ALLARD. David Evans was arrested for driving under the influence, When Evans refused to take a breath test, the police obtained a search warrant to draw a sample of his blood. A test of that sample showed that Evans had a blood-aleohol level of ." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.

Michael Wayne PHILLIPS, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee

Michael Wayne PHILLIPS, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee, 2014 Alas. App. LEXIS 88 (2014)

…D, Judge. A jury convieted Michael Wayne Phillips of felony driving under the influence, a class C felony. Phillips's offense was a felony because he had two prior out of-state convictions for driving under the influence-a 2004 conviction in Texas and a 2007 conviction in California. Phillips argues that his Texas conviction should not count as a prior conviction under Alaska l…

On DUI penalties, Michael Wayne PHILLIPS, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee speaks to the Alaska dispute in this passage: "D, Judge. A jury convieted Michael Wayne Phillips of felony driving under the influence, a class C felony." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.

Corrina I. MCCORD, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee

Corrina I. MCCORD, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee, 2017 Alas. App. LEXIS 17 (2017)

…ge MANNHEIMER. Corrina I. McCord appeals her conviction for driving under the influence. McCord’s blood alcohol level was not over the statutory limit, but testing of McCord’s blood showed that she had four different medications in her blood when she was driving. These medications were tramadol (a pain medication sold under the name Ultram, among others) and three members of th…

Alaska opinions such as Corrina I. MCCORD, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee are cited where DUI penalties is disputed. The court stated: "MANNHEIMER. Corrina I. McCord appeals her conviction for driving under the influence. McCord’s blood alcohol level was not over the statutory limit, but testing of McCord’s blood showed that she had four different medications in her blood when she was driving." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.

Key takeaways

BAC limits: 0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21
Lookback period: Prior convictions within 15 years can enhance DUI sentencing in Alaska.
First-offense range: First-offense DUI typically carries jail (often at least 72 hours), fines, license revocation, alcohol screening, and ignition interlock for reinstatement.
Felony threshold: A third DUI within 15 years, or DUI causing serious injury or death, can be a felony.
Ignition interlock: Ignition interlock is a standard condition for limited licenses and reinstatement after DUI.
Primary authority: Alaska Stat. § 28.35.030.

Blood alcohol limits in Alaska

0.08% for adults; 0.04% for commercial drivers; zero-tolerance for drivers under 21

Lookback window for prior offenses

Prior convictions within 15 years can enhance DUI sentencing in Alaska.

Frequently asked questions

What is the legal BAC limit in Alaska?